Summary
The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of the mother's motion to set aside a final judgment terminating her parental rights. The court held that the parent's failure to appear at the adjudicatory hearing, after appearing at the advisory hearing and receiving notice, constituted consent under section 39.801(3)(e), Florida Statutes (2024).
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying the mother's motion to set aside and vacate the final judgment terminating her parental rights.
- Whether the mother's failure to appear at the adjudicatory hearing constituted consent to termination under section 39.801(3)(e), Florida Statutes.
Holdings
- The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying the mother's motion to set aside and vacate the final judgment terminating her parental rights.
Key quotations
“If a parent appears for the advisory hearing and the court orders that parent to appear at the adjudicatory hearing for the petition for termination of parental rights, stating the date, time, and location of the hearing and, if applicable, instructions for appearance through audio-video communication technology, then failure of that parent to appear, either physically or, by agreement of the parties or at the discretion of the court, through audio-video communication technology, at the adjudicatory hearing constitutes consent for termination of parental rights.”
“Discretion, in this sense, is abused when the judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable, which is another way of saying that discretion is abused only where no reasonable [person] would take the view adopted by the trial court. If reasonable [people] could differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.” (1203)
Factual background
The proceeding concerned termination of the mother's parental rights. The opinion applied section 39.801(3)(e), which provides that a parent's failure to appear at the adjudicatory hearing after appearing at the advisory hearing and being ordered to appear constitutes consent to termination. The mother challenged the resulting termination judgment through a motion to set aside and vacate.
Procedural history
The circuit court entered a final judgment terminating the mother's parental rights after she failed to appear at the adjudicatory hearing. The mother sought to set aside and vacate the judgment, and the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the circuit court's disposition.